Guidance for Police Area Returning Officers administering a Police and Crime Commissioner election in England and Wales

Only a limited number of people may deliver the nomination form and home address form. The nomination form and home address form may only be delivered to you by:1

• the candidate
• the proposer or seconder as shown on the nomination form
• the candidate’s election agent, provided you have received notice of their appointment. The notice of appointment of election agent may be delivered at the same time as the nomination form and home address form.

There is no provision for sub-agents to be able to deliver nomination and home address forms.

There are no restrictions on who can deliver the consent to nomination, certificate of authorisation and emblem request form.

After a candidate has delivered their nomination papers and deposit and they stand validly nominated, they are entitled to attend the delivery of other candidates’ nomination papers and make objections to the validity of a nomination form or home address form. In addition to the candidate, the following persons will also be able to attend and make objections:

• their election agent
• their proposer or seconder, as stated on the nomination form

If a candidate is their own election agent, they can appoint one other person to attend the delivery of nomination papers and make objections to the validity of a nomination form or home address form. If a candidate has submitted more than one nomination form, only the proposer and seconder from the nomination form they have selected will be entitled to attend. If none has been selected, it will be the proposer and seconder of the first submitted
nomination form who will have that entitlement.

Nomination papers cannot be inspected by anybody else at any time. 

Electoral Commission representatives and one other person chosen by a validly nominated candidate can also be present at the delivery of nomination papers, but they are not allowed to inspect or make any objections.

You should make it clear to persons inspecting a home address form which asks for the candidate’s home address not to be published that the information on the form should only be used by the person inspecting to: 

• object to the nomination 
• lodge an election petition 
• make a complaint to the police that a person has made a false statement 

and that any other use may be in breach of data protection legislation and so could make a person using the information for any other purpose liable to criminal prosecution. 

You must keep the nomination papers securely and allow inspection of the nomination and home address forms by the persons permitted to inspect these until the deadline for making objections to the nomination papers.

You must not permit any other inspection unless the purpose is authorised by law.2 For example, the police have the power to inspect certain documents under specific circumstances. In these cases, the requestor should inform you of the relevant legislative provision which authorises inspection, so that you can be satisfied that, in allowing access, you are complying with the access restrictions. 

Once the deadline for making objections has passed, you should store the nomination papers securely for one year after the election, except for the home address form, which must be destroyed on the next working day following a period of 21 calendar days after the declaration of the result.  

However, the home address form must not be destroyed if there is a petition or other legal proceedings relating to the election, in which case you must wait until the next working day after the conclusion of such proceedings before destroying the form.3